Begging for a Second Chance (Sienna Sloan and Jarred Sterling) novel Chapter 185

If the kidnappers had investigated her background so thoroughly, how could they possibly not know that the entire world believed Celeste was Jarred's beloved childhood sweetheart?

The suspicions from earlier surged back to the forefront of her mind.

If she had only been harboring doubts a few minutes ago, now she was absolutely certain.

The mastermind behind this kidnapping was someone close to her.

It had to be either Celeste or Helena.

After a moment of thought, she ruled Helena out.

Helena was bitter, malicious, and clearly despised her as a daughter-in-law, but the woman was an absolute coward.

She would flinch at the sight of a slaughtered chicken. She definitely didn't have the nerve to orchestrate an international kidnapping.

That left only Celeste.

Now that the pieces had fallen into place, the blinding panic gripping Sienna's heart finally settled into a chilling calm.

She refused to be a sitting duck, and she absolutely refused to walk blindly into Celeste's trap.

She couldn't tell Jarred about this. First, it would alert the enemy. Second, given Jarred's blind devotion to Celeste, he likely wouldn't believe her anyway, and it would only ruin her counter-plan.

Without a second of hesitation, Sienna grabbed her phone and dialed Luna Lennox.

"Luna, do you have any underground contacts overseas? I need to buy some things."

Hearing her tone, Luna immediately went on high alert, her voice turning grave. "Sienna, what's going on? What do you need to buy?"

"I need to hire two highly skilled fighters with real combat experience. And I need a large supply of easy-to-use, high-damage self-defense weapons."

Sienna's voice was urgent. "As long as the goods are real, money is no object."

Luna's chest tightened.

She knew Sienna too well. Sienna was fiercely independent, calculated, and always had a handle on things. She never made requests like this.

For her to sound so desperate meant she was backed into a corner, likely facing a life-or-death situation.

Meanwhile.

Celeste was back in her own room, in phenomenally high spirits. She decided to draw a petal bath to wash away the day's fatigue.

Just as she finished running the hot water and slipped off her outer layer, her bedroom door burst open.

Celeste paused, frowning as she looked toward the entrance. "Who's there?"

Dead silence answered her.

A spike of unease shot through Celeste. She quickly grabbed her coat, draping it over her shoulders, and began rolling her wheelchair toward the door to investigate.

Suddenly, the bathroom door was kicked open. A figure lunged forward with the speed of lightning, closing the distance in an instant.

A blur of motion, and the next second, a razor-sharp dagger was pressed tight against Celeste's throat.

The freezing steel bit into the skin right over her carotid artery.

Even a fraction of an inch more pressure would slice right through her flesh!